1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, method and program for informing a user that a print processing apparatus, such as a printer controller or a print server, is in a power saving state.
2. Description of the Related Art
To reduce power consumption, image forming apparatuses are generally capable of switching from a normal state ready for immediate printing to a power saving state for saving power.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-137637 (corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 5,937,148) discloses an image forming apparatus with an interface that informs a host personal computer (PC) that a controller of the image forming apparatus is in power saving state.
A print processing apparatus, such as a printer controller or a print server, externally connected to an image forming apparatus, needs to process a large amount of data at high speed. Therefore, unlike general image forming apparatuses, a print processing apparatus incorporates a PC-based architecture with a high-performance central processing unit (CPU) and motherboard. Since such a print processing apparatus includes an operating system (OS) (general-purpose OS, such as WINDOWS XP) generally running on PCs, a longer time is required for recovery from a power saving state than that in the case of an image forming apparatus requiring less time for recovery. Therefore, a print processing apparatus externally connected to an image forming apparatus does not support power saving mode. Even if the user does not perform a print operation for extended periods of time, the print processing apparatus needs to maintain standby mode to always receive print requests from a host PC, and thus wastes power.
If placed in a power saving state, the print processing apparatus cannot receive a print request from the host PC and a timeout occurs. However, the user who has sent the print request from the host PC is not informed of the cause of the timeout (the print request has not been received because the print processing apparatus is in a power saving state).
It is therefore convenient if the user is informed of the cause of a timeout that has occurred because, for example, the print processing apparatus in a power saving state has not received a print request. Or it is convenient if the power saving state is released in accordance with the print request.